Four-wave mixing

Four-wave mixing is an intermodulation phenomenon in optical systems, whereby interactions between 3 wavelengths produce a 4th wavelength in the signal. It is similar to the third-order intercept point in electrical systems. Four-wave mixing can be compared to the intermodulation distortion in standard electrical systems.

Mechanism

When three wavelengths (λ1, λ2, and λ3) interact in a nonlinear medium, they give rise to a fourth wavelength (λ4) which is formed by the scattering of the incident photons, producing the fourth photon. It is easier to illustrate this if we use frequency instead of wavelength.

Given inputs f1, f2, and f3, the nonlinear system will produce

\pm f_{1} \pm f_{2} \pm f_{3}

with the most damaging signals to system performance calculated as

f_{ijk} = f_{i} %2B f_{j} - f_{k}, \mathrm{where}\, i \neq j \neq k

since these frequencies will lie close to one of the incoming frequencies.

From calculations with the three input signals, it is found that 12 interfering frequencies are produced, 3 of which lie on one of original incoming frequencies.

Degenerate four-wave mixing

Four-Wave Mixing (FWM) is also present if only three components interact. In this case the term

f_{0} = f_{1} %2B f_{1} - f_{2}

couples three components, thus generating so-called degenerate four-wave mixing, showing identical properties as in case of four interacting waves.

FWM is a fiber-optic characteristic that affects wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems, where multiple optical wavelengths are spaced at equal intervals or channel spacing. The effects of FWM are pronounced with decreased channel spacing of wavelengths and at high signal power levels. High chromatic dispersion decreases FWM effects, as the signals lose coherence. The interference FWM causes in WDM systems is known as interchannel crosstalk. FWM can be mitigated by using uneven channel spacing or fiber that increases dispersion.

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